ARP poisoning MITM

• Shubham Banwal

• December 2025

ARP Poisoning & Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attack Simulation using Kali Linux & Ettercap

Problem:

Local network environments are vulnerable to ARP spoofing attacks, allowing attackers to intercept unencrypted traffic without detection. However, understanding how these attacks operate in practice is often limited to theory.

Approach:

Simulated a real-world ARP poisoning–based MITM attack within a controlled network environment using Kali Linux and Ettercap to intercept, analyse, and evaluate network traffic vulnerabilities.

System Design:

• Local network setup with victim, attacker, and router nodes
• ARP spoofing mechanism to redirect traffic through attacker machine
• Ettercap for packet interception and manipulation
• Network traffic monitoring and analysis layer
• Controlled environment for safe attack simulation

Key Contributions:

• Executed ARP poisoning attacks to position attacker as intermediary between client and router
• Used Ettercap to intercept and analyse live network traffic
• Demonstrated how unencrypted data can be exposed during MITM attacks
• Analysed packet flows to understand attack impact on data confidentiality
• Evaluated effectiveness of encryption and secure protocols in preventing interception
• Conducted experiments in a controlled environment to ensure safe and ethical testing

Constraints & Tradeoffs:

• Requirement for controlled lab environment to avoid real-world impact
• Limited visibility when traffic is encrypted (HTTPS/TLS)
• Network configuration dependencies affecting attack success
• Ethical considerations in simulating real attack scenarios